What Is The Best Generic Version Of Wellbutrin Xl - Watson Or Anchen? (Page 4) (Top voted first)

My doctor will not prescribe generic Wellbutrin XL but my insurance will no longer pay for brand name drugs. I will have to pay about $7000 per yer for what I am taking now (3 of the 150mg Wellbutrin XL brand name per day). I am reading that the problem with the generics is the time release mechanism and not the drug itself and that some are better than others. Anybody have experience with the generics made by Watson and /or Anchen?

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Crosbysmom-I took about a 7 week trip down adderall lane in an attempt to replace Wellbutrin XL. I know you were privy to those posts. At first I thought it was the miracle drug & I could finally stop worrying about chasing down Wellbutrin XL. I was very wrong. I only needed 5mg though I was prescribed 20mg which I could cut. (I should add that indeed I've always had ADD symptoms, just found the Wellbutrin XL seemed to cover that as well).
Soon the "crashes" developed. Emotional swings,crying in afternoon, & then the hyperfocus where I could sit for HOURS getting stuck in whatever it was I was doing....or NOT doing. And I did not lose any weight. That's for sure.
I would not recommend this for you. That's my 2 cents. I then went back to experimenting w/PAR generic & Valeant Canada's Wellbutrin XL 150. That's when my stomach became bloated & irritable,etc. if you'll look back
, you can see where I stated that the ingredients in Valeant Canada's Wellbutrin XL differ from those on the Valeant Wellbutrin "made for North America" label.
MS chick-TY for your report. I have heard many users having success w/the SR generics. I'd be inclined to return to that perhaps if your Dr & Pharm friend can look again for something compatible. I understand completely your issue w/the weight gain. That in itself is a huge contributor to depression for me. I'm sitting here now looking at this stomach that came about during my various trials & errors. I get you. And these fillers & binders must be the issue for me. Just because we're not intolerant or allergic to ingred doesn't mean we're not sensitive to them. I've entered my 3rd week w/o Wellbutrin or anything else. I have some slight bouts w/nausea but no other ill effects & my stomach has quieted & is returning to its former self. THAT makes me less depressed. I'm giving it 8 weeks. My next move I think will be (if necessary)-to check out the labels for SR generic versions.
I do apologize for my participation in the turn this discussion had taken last week. There were a few things I just didn't let go by posters -whom I'd not seen here prior. I stand on my point that there IS NO generic substitution for the original GSK Wellbutrin XL. Again that was the starter for this whole thing. But I am open minded after accepting that, to something possibly close ENOUGH w/o dreaded effects. That's why I'm inclined to look into SR generics. If necessary. Presently I'm holding my own. And THAT's precisely the proof I have that anything I tried just wasn't the same. And many had me worse off.

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Crosbysmom, in response to a previous question, I have been doing great on the Sandoz SR 150 mg/day, plus 10 mg of generic Adderall. I do not have ADHD/ADD, but the Sandoz generic still left me with an energy crash late afternoon and some brain fog. Honestly, I was so happy that I did well on the generic, I would have just dealt with those 2 things, but my doctor wanted me to try adding the small dose of generic Adderall to see if that helped.

Of course, I realize that this would not work for everyone, but want to share my experience in case anyone would want to explore the same regimen.

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JJ,
Just to clarify. I didn't do well on the SR generics. I am currently on the immediate release (IR) and that was the name-brand that I was on before they stopped making it.

I wish I could upload the Exel files with the comparison spreadsheet for all of you.

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I have been taking the Generic Wellbutrin XL 300 for like 4 months now. I was taking the Watson Version from CVS for the first 2 months and then decided to order the 90 day supply for economic reasons from Medco and they use a different manufacturer Anchen. I really have not noticed much of a difference between the two of them, but to be very honest I have never really even noticed any effect at all from this medicine at all. I have never tried Wellbutrin Name Brand meds, after reading all of these blogs I am thinking that it would be a good idea for me to try Name Brand Wellbutrin.

I just re-filled my perscription for 30 days, so I will not be up for a refill for another 30 days, does anyone know of a way that I can try the Name Brand Wellbutrin to compare it?

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Does anyone know if there has been a congressional pubic hearing to address this? I think the FDA (in the last administration) dismissed the claims that were brought by the group that investigated. However, we do have a different administration and Kathleen Sebelius may be more amenable to listening. Patients sharing these types of experiences and doctors backing them up about the dangers and differences b/w name brand and generic could be powerful. The other idea is to contact a member of the senate committee that is responsible for the FDA. Would be especially poignant if one of the following Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee members is your senator. Boxer or Feinstein not on this committee or I would.
Democrats by Rank
Tom Harkin (IA)
Barbara A. Mikulski (MD)
Jeff Bingaman (NM)
Patty Murray (WA)
Bernard Sanders (I) (VT)
Robert P. Casey, Jr. (PA)
Kay R. Hagan (NC)
Jeff Merkley (OR)
Al Franken (MN)
Michael F. Bennet (CO)
Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)
Richard Blumenthal (CT)
Republicans by Rank
Michael B. Enzi (WY)
Lamar Alexander (TN)
Richard Burr (NC)
Johnny Isakson (GA)
Rand Paul (KY)
Orrin G. Hatch (UT)
John McCain (AZ)
Pat Roberts (KS)
Lisa Murkowski (AK)
Mark Kirk (IL)

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I have taken Wellbutrin XL 300 mg for about 1 year and was feeling almost normal again other than panic and anxiety. The depression was only occasional and then lighter than before. My PCP and therapist don't believe in generics for depression. Two and a half months ago my new psychiatrist changed me to the generic version saying he has never had a patient say they saw any difference in the name brand and generic. My pharmacy uses the Anchen version. I am back to severely depressed, cry a lot, don't want to leave my home, afraid of people, feel worthless, no energy, don't think life is worth the fight. Needless to say when I go back to my psychiatrist next week, I am going to tell him I want the brand name Wellbutrin XL. There is a huge difference in the name brand and generics. I've read a mountain of complaints on another site about the generics not working.

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I originally took the Wellbutrin from Glaxo for about 5 years and was taking it when it got changed to Biovail. The insurance I had at the time made me go to the generic and that was a disaster. I actually had to start buying from Canada while I still had insurance. I can say from experience that the brand made by Glaxo and the brand taken over and produced by Biovail are indeed the same. As I said, I even tried what they say is the brand from Turkey and found that it is not the same as I have been taking.
Big Mountain has been very good with me. I searched and found the best price for the brand from Canada, then called Big Mountain and told them I wanted a price match. This was because I have been dealing with Big Mountain for so many years and trust what they are sending me. They will match the price if you find a pharmacy in Canada with a lower price. Just be sure you tell them you want the brand from Biovail in Canada.
Good luck. Would love to say I have not taken the meds long enough to give a real response, but unfortunately or it looks like fortunately for some out there, I have taken Wellbutrin XL for about 10 years. Should have been longer, but went around and around trying to find something that did not do weird things to me and my brain. This has been a life saver for me.

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Evan - I also have ordered Wellbutrin XL from Big Mountain (thank you Ronda!) and requested the brand made by Biovail from Canada. Please be aware that the pills will NOT have the same markings as what you receive in the U.S. According to Biovail, the 300 mg should be marked WXL 300 (or 150, according to your strength). If you receive pills marked GS 5YZ, you have received the pills from Turkey.

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I have taken Wellbutrin since the early 90s for depression beginning with 100 mg tabs, then 150 mg tabs, then SR when it came out, then XL when it was released; brand-name & generic. This drug & I have a long, successful relationship. I switched back to brand name Wellbutrin at the beginning of 2012 choosing to pay a higher copay. It was the best year yet UNTIL my insurance carrier changed Sept. 1. The new carrier refuses to pay for brand name DESPITE appeals from my psych & myself. I had an out-of-town class reunion in October so, after hitting & sliding miserably down a generic (Mylan) wall, I quickly scrambled to get brand samples to get enough in me to get it to start working. After that I have chosen to pay out-of-pocket to continue on. Had I not gotten back "up" the likelihood of me even going to my reunion was, oh, 0%. The likelihood of me doing anything besides withdrawing really bad would be slightly higher.
Unfortunately, due to lack of money, I have gone ahead & given the generic another go, you know, just in case it was "just me". IT'S NOT! Looking for some sort of coupon this past Monday, the FDA info popped up when I chose XL on Wellbutrin.com. Reading the failure of therapueutic equivalency was vindication for me! Even though the generic I take is manufactured by Mylan, I KNOW my generic is also not therapeutically equivalent! I know immediately when I have expended the last of the good stuff in my system. I can hardly wait for the remaining generic results to be published in March though my faith in honest disclosure from pharmaceutical companies is not high. I must also add (and this could be a rather lengthy rant but I will contain my anger) that the fact, as shown by this failure's example, that pharmaceutical companies can just "extrapolate" data instead of actually performing the necessary tests/trials on a drug is criminal! How they can toy with our lives, and yes, in many of our cases, OUR LIVES, to do what? Save themselves a few bucks? We are talking persons LIVES!!! Even if it is quality of life, it is LIFE! Extrapolated data - same thing, right? WRONG!!! When the brand wears off I become terribly desperate. Perhaps, because I have now had a taste of normal, I cannot bear to go back.

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Mylan is the best generic. I started getting it at walgreens, then discovered I could get generic much cheaper at costco so I switched. I had no idea there was a difference between generics. Horrilbe experience. I think they were from watson (yellow pills). I went back to walgreens for Mylan. does anyone know how to search for this manufacturer cheaper than walgreens? Walgreens is completely incompetent btw. I have to call every month to confirm they have Mylan in stock. they have said yes, only to go there and find they have packaged Anchen for me. argh! I want to scream "they ARE NOT the same!" and dangerous to say they are.

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I'm an Analytical Chemist in the pharmaceutical industry. I have to be careful what I say as I'm bound by confidentiality agreements. I worked on brand name Wellbutrin SR and Wellbutrin XL. I was laid off in 2009. I used to take Wellbutrin SR but now have insurance that will not pay for brand name so I'm now taking generic. Since I was laid off I've learned a lot about generic companies.while working contract positions for them. I'll be quite honest, they scare the heck out of me. I think about that every time I open the bottle to get a tablet.

I spotted two things while looking through posts, not sure if they were in this thread or not.

1) - If your tablets are yellow, make sure with your pharmacist that they are SUPPOSED to be yellow.

2) - Someone mentioned their bupropion having a strong smell. This will sound odd but if that smell reminds you of rotten eggs then it is probably okay. If it smells like something else, try to follow up with your pharmacist.

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Shelli,
I had the same problem with all the generics. It only took about 10 days and then I knew. I was afraid because of the depth of depression I reached so quickly. Since that time I have had to buy the brand from Canada. Unfortunately, they are slowly creeping the prices up even there. Double what I paid 3 years ago and yet no where near what it is here in the states. Here, I cannot begin to afford it.
Glad that your son was able to find what the problem was for him.

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Just called my insurance company - it will cost me $912.48 for a 3 month supply of name brand Wellbutrin XL 300mg. The only generic I've tried that works for me is Actavis South - I have tried Anchen/Par, Mylan, and most recently, Watson. No one carries Actavis in my area any longer. There is no way I can afford 300/month AFTER insurance, THIS IS RIDICULOUS - $30/month for generic, 10 times that for brand - Heck, $100 for brand would be hard enough ... I just want to curl up and cry, ... maybe that light I was seeing at the end of the tunnel really was an oncoming train ... maybe if I add an instant release in a lower dosage in the early afternoon? IDK, I'm just so lost, frustrated, and angry ... it's not acne medicine, for cryin' out loud! And it's not like I just don't want to try the generic - I have tried them all -

Sorry for the rant - I guess it didn't help when my dear husband said everyones depressed they just need to get over it ......... like HE's gonna understand me wanting to pay that much for brand ...

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Like many others on this site, my insurance company will no longer cover branded Wellbutrin XL at anything resembling a reasonable price, even with a letter from my provider. Pharmacychecker is a site related to Consumer Lab, (which I discussed in my previous post) which does not require a subscription. They vet online pharmacies, and are very transparent about their methods, the limits of the info they can provide, and have consumer reviews. You plug in a drug name, and the prices, shipping costs, etc are all there for all the pharmacies. Click on the "profile" links under the pharmacy name to check out the ratings.

I ordered from PharmStore, which indicated the brand name was manufactured in Canada by Valeant, the North American manufacturer of branded Wellbutrin XL. I received the meds in a mailer from Germany, the box & bottle of Wellbutrin had the brand logo, but was in Turkish, manufactured in Canada by Biovail, (which merged with Valeant). The pills were marked GS 5YZ, not with the brand name.

I called Valeant in Canada and the US, and they could not identify the pill. I wrote to PharmStore, and they eventually sent me a link to a Swedish site - FASS.se (use Google translate to read it) where, listed under manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline, was the exact image of the Wellbutrin XL I received. So, as I understand it, Glaxo still manufacturers Wellbutrin XL outside North America. I had been afraid I'd thrown away the $130 for 90 pills because I wasn't comfortable taking an unknown substance.

I hope this, and my previous post about Wellbutrin and generics, is helpful to those who responded to the brand name, but have trouble with the generics. As a psychiatric nurse practitioner myself, who prescribes a lot of Wellbutrin, I can tell you that all the generic XL versions have been problematic, that patients stable for years on the brand name took a nosedive on generics. It's a huge problem that I hope the FDA rectifies soon, as more and more insurance companies refuse to cover, or cover at an exorbitant price, the brand name.

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Im trying canada drugs. 50 dollars for brand name Welbutrin xl . Canada will not sell generic welbutrin. Seems they are protecting people where us has not got protection in place too keep meds that ate not quaulity off the market. Anyway my first shipment should arrive in 1 more week. Its brand name so i have mo worries. Im really impressed with their customer service so far.

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I have been taking bupropion 200 mg 2x day for several years. Most recently I have been getting them from Walgreen's and they are Mylan generic. About 3 or 4 weeks ago I realized that I have been steadily getting more depressed. I switched to the brand name for a week and quickly recovered. I have tried to use the Mylan again but I am not having good results. Not sure if it is because of changing other medications, or something else. As far as I can find out, the Mylan that I had been taking successfully were in the same 'batch' as the ones I am taking now. I am going to switch to CVS - they said their bupropion 200 mg is by Global and I cannot find any reviews for ti. I will try for a week. Cannot afford brand name.

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Thank you for you post. I too have had GREAT results from the Actavis brand. Appoximately 7 days ago, I obtained my second refill of Bupropion HCL XL, 150 mg, which was the Watson Brand. I noticed severe changes in my temperment, and I was just rude. I began feeling overly sensitive and wanted to cry all the time. I contacted my pharmacist and explained that I noticed the differences with my moods, and what I thought was contributed to the change in brands. She immediately contacted my insrance company who approved me to obtained the Actavis brand. I am sold on this brand. Immediately I feel improvement in my mood. No WATSON for me!

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For those of you using Medco / Express Scripts: They can / will fill a brand specific generic provided that your doctor specifies it on the fax form / prescription form.

I, too, was filling Wellbutrin XL through Target up until last month when they discontinued carrying the Watson Generic version of the 300 mg XL. The version they now carry resulted in extreme headaches, where I never had such a reaction to the Watson variant which I have been taking for years. I visited probably 20 local pharamcies, everything from the big names (CVS, Walmart, RiteAid, Walgreens) to the mom and pop local pharamacies trying to find someone that had the Watson version -- everyone told me it was backordered.

I finally landed on a Shopper's pharamacisit who told me that Watson had discontinued in the 300mg strength. She was nice enough to work with me and my doctor to do "3 day trials" on a couple different brand generics to see if we could find one that didn't cause the aweful headaches. For me, the GlaxoSmithKline variant seemed to work best.

Back to Medco / ExpressScripts. I called the member services number on the back of my card and explained the situation to the CSR. While by default they do carry "Par Pharm" and "Valeant" generics, they will order a specific brand of generic for you provided that your doctor explicitly writes the brand name(s) on the actual perscription / write in form. Note that it does take a few more days the first time you order in this manner, as they do have to special order it. However, it does give you the option of leveraging the cost savings of Mail order perscription benefits.

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In reply to the last post.. the savings card that is on the Wellbutrin XL website has 2 options.. one is to get it from your local pharmacy and you can get $50 off your deductible and the second one.. the guarantee program is where they send you your script through the mail if you are insured you will pay A. $0 if your insurance reimburses you $100 or more per month on your Rx or B. maximum of $50 if your insurance company reimburses you less than $100 a month. There is also an option for no insurance plan where it says you will pay maximum of $50 a month (this is will the mail order). I am really excited that they are doing this! I have been on the SR because I had the assistance program for the past year and a half (when they used to have the program and theyd send like 6 months at a time so I still have it). I wish I had coverage so I could get my Rx for less than $50.. I already pay over $60-80 for other Rxs a month. But either way I think I will be picking up a new RX of the wellbutrin XL so I can use the Guarantee Program!

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Go figure - I was doing okay with Watson - Abrika took them over, and I'm not doing well at all. It is beyond me that manufacturers et al think these "casual" switches don't affect patients to this extent. It's extremely frustrating, as it affects my interactions with everything & everyone... home, work, etc. Ridiculous...

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